From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes a highly-anticipated epic and triumphant new novel—a multi-generational celebration of the land and spirit of the early twentieth-century Lowcountry.
Join Blue Bicycle Books Thursday June 5, 12 pm at Halls Signature Events (5 Faber St., downtown Charleston), for an author luncheon with Mary Alice Monroe, celebrating the release of Where the Rivers Merge.
Tickets are $69 for the three-course lunch and signed copy of Where the Rivers Merge (Harper Collins, hb., $30). Companion tickets for two lunches and one book are available for $109.
Doors open at 11:30 am, lunch served at noon, talk to follow. For more information please call the bookstore at 843.722.2666.
About the book: In 1908, the Lowcountry is on the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. Free-spirited, she refuses to be confined by societal norms. Instead, Eliza revels in exploring the golden fields and sparkling ponds of Mayfield, observing wildlife, riding horses.
But her halcyon days are cut short by the Great War, coastal storms, and unexpected challenges to Mayfield. As Eliza battles personal pains and the ravages of family turmoil over the years, her love and devotion for the natural world puts her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.
In 1988, Eliza, now 88 years old, is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She’s fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family—or watch them both be split apart.
Where the Rivers Merge is a sweeping, multigenerational story of unyielding love, lessons learned, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.
Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 books, including The Summer of Lost and Found, the 2021 installment in her beloved Beach House series, and The Islanders middle grade series, set on Dewees Island, S.C. Nearly eight million copies of her books have been published worldwide.
A longtime champion of the the fragility of the earth’s wild habitatMonroe immerses herself in academic research, works with wildlife experts, and does hands-on volunteering with animals. She then uses the knowledge and experiences to craft captivating stories that identify important parallels between nature and human nature. Sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, monarch butterflies, shorebirds are among the species she has worked with and woven into her novels.
Monroe is an active conservationist and serves on the South Carolina Aquarium Board Emeritus, The Leatherback Trust, The Pat Conroy Literary Center Honorary Board, and Casting Carolinas Advisory Board. She is especially proud to be a twenty year plus state-certified volunteer with the Isle of Palms Island Turtle Team.
